Man accused of stalking after 18 pizzas ordered for estranged wife

A man has been charged with felony stalking after authorities said he spent hours placing phony orders for pizza for his estranged wife.

Prosecutors said that, in one day, the man placed orders for 18 pizzas at four Schaumburg-area restaurants, claiming they had been ordered by his estranged wife, who had received an order of protection against him.

Bryant Smith, 47, of Lake in the Hills, was charged with aggravated stalking, a felony, and his bond was set at $200,000 during a court appearance in Rolling Meadows today, said Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney Maria McCarthy.

She said Smith also served 120 days in Cook County Jail last year for violating an order of protection and resisting arrest after he struggled with officers who were arresting him for making harassing phone calls to his wife.

Smith, of the 0-100 block of Woodland Road, also had several additional pending charges in which he was accused of violating an order of protection obtained by his estranged spouse last year, McCarthy said, including a December charge in which he was accused of slashing a tire on the woman’s car while she was at work.

But those charges were dropped today as authorities decided to focus on the stalking case, officials said.

Police were alerted after the woman reported receiving calls and emails from pizzerias seeking to confirm she had placed the pizza orders. Police eventually tracked the orders, which had been placed online, to Smith’s computer, McCarthy said.

During his bond hearing, Smith uttered the word “bitch” and spit on the floor while McCarthy was reading charges against him, prompting the judge, Jill Cerone-Marisie, to admonish him.

Smith has five prior felony convictions, including burglary and possession of a stolen motor vehicle, McCarthy said.